Questioning texts represented in semantic relations I requires the recognition that synonyms, instances, and hyponyms may all satisfy a questioned term. A basic procedure for accomplishing such loose matching using inheritance from a taxonomic organization of the dictionary is defined in analogy with the unification a!gorithm used for theorem proving, and the costs of its application are analyzed. It is concluded tl,at inherit,~nce logic can profitably be ixiclu.'ted in the basic questioning procedure. .
